Scrubbing-machine for removing foreign matter from the surfaces of globular objects.



A. TAPLIN.

PATENTED FEB. 13; 1906.

SGRUBBINGMAGH'INE FOR REMOVING FOREIGN MATTER FROM THE SURFACES 0F GLOBU LAR OBJECTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22. 1904.

UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICQ ALVIN TAPLIN, OF FORESTVILLE, CONNECTICUT. i SCRUBBlNG-MACHINE FOR REMOVING FOREIGN MATTER FROM THE SURFACES F GLOBULAR- OBJECTS.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Feb. 13, 1906.

Application filed August 22,1904. Serial No. 221,762.

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, ALVIN TAPLIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Forestville,

in the county of Hartford and State of COnnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Scrubbing-Machines for Removing Foreign Matter from the Surfaces of Globular Objects, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in scrubbing machines for removing foreign matter from the surface of globular objects; and the main object of my improvement is simplicity of construction and efliciency in operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken plan view of my machine. Fig. 2 is abroken longitudinal section of the same on the line a: as of Fig. 1 with parts in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the said machine on the line y y of Fig. 1.

A designates'a tub or liquid-tight vessel or trough, which in the specific form shown also constitutes the frame of the machine and upon which a brushing or scrubbing roller B is mounted to revolve in suitable hearings on the shaft 4. I prefer to provide one end of this shaft with a balance-Wheel 5,, which may in turn be provided with a suitable handle 6 for turning the shaft and roller by hand. The opposite end of the said shaft may also be provided with a short crank 7 for the application of a connecting-bar 8 and a foot-treadle 9 for driving the roller by foot-power. If desired, a ower-driven belt may be applied to the balance-wheel 5.

The upper surface of thescrubbing-roller B should be slightly inclined in the longitudinal direction of the machine, and I refer to get the incline, pitch, or slant by the combination of a tapering roller with an inclined axis for said roller and to mount the said roller on the trough or frame with its under face in a horizontal or level position, so that both ends of the roller will dip into the water or other scrubbing fluid to the same depth. In this waythe slant or pitch of the upper surface of the roller is twice as great as it would be with a rollerof the same taper set on a horizontal axis, while the incline of the shaft or axis is only half what it would be to give the upper surface of a cylinder the same pitch or slant.

end and eight inches at the other end, provided the shaft or axis is set so as to bring the under face of the roller level.

By the side of the rollerB, I arrangeascrubbing-apron C, with its lower edge on an incline corresponding with that of the roller and approaching the said roller below its summit, whereby an inclined trough or chute is formed by the combined faces of the said roller and apron. This apron and scrubbing-roller are covered with any suitable filamentous brushlike material 10 on any suitable body. A matting of cocoanut fiber similar to an ordinary foot mat furnishes a good scrubbingsurface and may be secured upon a wooden roller" and a board to form, respectively, the scrubbing-roller and apron. Mounted on the frame at the large end of the roller is a feed-' ing trough or chute 11 of substantially-a V- shaped form in transverse section, with its oppositely-inclined side Walls extended on a horizontal incline to any desired length for supporting in. single file the objects to be scrubbed and forcibly directing them into the trough or chute formed by the combined roller and apron. The feeding-chute is inclined in the same direction, but on a steeper incline than the top of the scrubbing-roller. A delivery-passage 12 is formed in the machine at the discharge end of the scrubbing-roller and apron.

The machine may be used for scrubbing foreign matter from the surface of any globular-sha ed 0bjectsas,for example, fruit and vegeta les or other objects of a more or less spherical form. The pitch or incline of the scrubbing-roller may vary according to the variation from a true sphere that the objects have. As shown, it is at the proper pitch for scrubbing grape-fruit and oranges, which are vmore nearly round than some other fruits.

Water or other scrubbing fluid is placed in the tank in sufficient quantit to cover the under face of the scrubbing-r0 ler. The roller is driven in the direction indicated by the curved dart in Fig; 3.

and on striking the roller and apron is rolled over and over against the scrubbing-surfaces of the said brush in connection with the wa- I ter taken u by the roller, and passing longitudinall, 0 the roller and apron by the combined action of'gravity and the rotary movement of the scrubbing-roller to the delivery 12 the fruit is scrubbed when wet, and its surface is' thoroughly cleaned of all foreign mat-.

The fruit is fed into. the machine through the feeding-chute 11 broken-line circles in Fig.

ter Without cutting, crushing, peeling, bruising, or otherwise injuring the Fruit or in any Way removing anynatural part thereof. The 1 indicatethe fruit in its passage through the machine. It should pass along slowly, and the machine may be kept substantially lull from end to end of the roller. The horizontally-extended brushingroller and apron, which form the scrubbingchute, are inclined at a slight angle, so as to feed the fruit the rel hrough in time by gravity aided by the rotary roller, while the incline is so flat as to serve as a resistance to the rolling of the fruit through the scrubbing-elnite by gravity alone, whereb the said resisting-incline may retain the ruit in the scrubbingchute long enough to be thoroughly scrubbed.

-The incline of the feeding-chute, as before stated, is greater than that of the top of the roller, and it is steep enough to overcome the resistance to the rolling inovementof the fruit that may be caused by its flattened or non spherical shape and the friction that may be caused by the oranges pressing against each other, so that said chute acts as a foreingincline to force the fruit down through the chute l l l by gravity alone when the fruit is retarded in the brushes to enable the hopper to be loaded. \lVith such a forcing-incline when the feedingchute 11 is loaded the weight of the fruit therein assists in carrying the fruit along the length ol" the roller. It the feeding-chute is of considerable length, the passage of the fruit along the serubbing-roller may be made faster or slower by varying the quantity ol fruit in the l'eeding-clnite. The longer the time that the fruit isretained in the machine, everything else being equal, the more it will be scrubbed.

I claim as my invention The combination of a frame with a tapering scrubbing roller mounted on the. said frame with its axis on an incline and with its under face level, a liqii idtight vessel or trough into which the under face of the said scrubbing-roller extends, and a. scrubbing-apron arranged by the side of the said roller below the summit thereof substantially as described.

ALVIN 'lAPlJN. Wit nesses WALLACE B. Cumin,

CnARLEs l Anonnnownn. 

